


Acceptance and Consequence

by Penny_Quill



Series: The Drumfred Project [2]
Category: Victoria (TV)
Genre: Cannon Divergence, Coming Out, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, I thought it'd be cool if we got to meet Alfred's family, Mild Angst, NO DEATH, Original Characters - Freeform, PTSD, google them they were really cool
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2019-01-25 03:07:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12521576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Penny_Quill/pseuds/Penny_Quill
Summary: Drummond is working hard to make sure that the opening of the Albert Dockyard goes off without a hitch, but things go off the rails when memories of his attack start flooding back to him. As Alfred tries to help Drummond through his trauma he also worries what will happen when his estranged sister makes a surprise appearance.





	1. Chapter 1

The light from the morning sun bled in through the small break in the curtains. It was almost intoxicating, the way that it felt as Alfred fluttered his eyes open and the warmth flooded in. He reached over for Drummond but was surprised to find that, apart from himself, his bed was empty. It was a bizarre feeling, he’d gotten so used to waking up next to someone else that it felt like a piece of him had gone missing, and it seemed to be happening all the more frequently. That cold gaping emptiness was a reminder of everything his life had been before. It wasn’t like he hadn’t always known _something_ was different, he never had dreams of chasing mysterious women hopelessly beyond his means, as his friends had. Nor of more average things like marriage or children, and unlike many his family had never pushed him to aspire for either. He had twelve siblings still walking amongst the living who between them had already produced enough Grandchildren for Papa to have a small army. So until he had met Drummond it was just this _thing_ , this _something_ he’d never quite been able to put his finger on; it wasn’t as if he never wanted love, in fact he craved it, he just never went looking for what he thought he couldn’t find. In hindsight he realised that he might have had feelings for other men in the past but nothing as intense as Drummond, none that could not be ignored or passed off as platonic admiration. In the end he’d found love in the shadows where no one would dare look.

Running his eyes over at the clock in the corner of his bedroom, he saw that it was only just past seven. Not that it was unusual for Drummond to sneak out in the morning, if he waited too long then he risked running into passing servants or members of the household. Alfred couldn’t even count the number of mornings they’d told each other, “Just five more minutes”. But he must have left incredibly early to go without wanting to wake him or say good morning and goodbye. It had been two months since Drummond was shot, the truth was that Alfred was still terrified every time his lover left the palace in case of something terrible happening again. He knew that realistically the chance of Drummond being shot twice was comically low, but so was the chance that he’d be shot once and it still happened. If Drummond’s ordeal had taught him anything it was that the world didn’t exist within the crisp edges of absolutes, all things were possible if the world was trying hard enough. Despite his worries however, he knew that whatever might have happened they both still had lives to lead, but they’d gotten quite used to their little routine. All stolen glances and quiet smiles in the day, but every night when only the ghosts of courtly secrets walked the corridors, without fail the door would creek open and into his room would walk Drummond, climbing into bed with him. Then in the morning they would wake, say their goodbyes and rinse and repeat for the next day. Until their weekly trip to Ciros which Alfred longed to always be there sooner, always finding  something so refreshing about walking back together, going home together when it was late enough that no one was there to care.

The palace was as it always was, a cascading sea of servants and court members impeccably intertwining with one another. Amongst all the orchestral chaos of court life, it felt like the two men would never see each other but eventually Alfred was able to catch a glimpse out of the corner of his eye and steer himself in the right direction. Drummond looked weak, his eyes were sullen and his skin was a few hues too pale to not peak Alfred’s concerns.

“Mr Drummond”, a little slyness still crept in from the back of his throat, after all no one else around them knew just how much he was really saying.

“Lord Alfred”, Drummond replied, barely even glancing up from the stack of papers he was fumbling through as he walked. Alfred was about to say something back, when gravity intervened however and that stumbling stack of papers scattered to the floor. Drummond immediately shot down, scrambling to pick them all up, apparently muttering to himself as he did. The other man followed suit, crouching down to help in the collection.

“Drummond are you quite alright?” asked Alfred, his eyebrows furling together at the centre of his face.

“I am perfectly fine”, he said in insistence, his eyes still only ever staring down.

“It's just…”, he paused lowering his voice and leaning in just slightly, “I seem to keep waking up to an empty bed”.Finally the other man’s eyes broke their solitary gaze, “I’m sorry”, said Drummond, taking in a deep breath, you could almost hear his chest shaking from the second of relief, “I just don’t want to disappoint his Royal Highness…And now this”.

“Edward”, said Alfred handing the last piece of rouge paper to him, their hands touching ever so slightly as it passed from one man to the other, “It’s just paper”. That little smile Drummond made was what Alfred lived for, full of innocence and trusting. How he’d learned to hear a million things from that face.

There small moment of peace was broken by the bellows of a woman’s voice, “Well I be, I never realised they had you cleaning the floors now?”, Drummond didn’t have the faintest idea who the voice belonged too, but before he could even look to see who it was Alfred had leapt up in action

“Adelaide!”, he called after her in what was almost disbelief, the two meeting in an familiar embrace, “What on earth are you doing here, since when were you coming home?”

“Oh you know how it is”, she said flippantly, “I never did do well staying in one place”, breaking away from Alfred’s arms she turned her attention to Drummond, her eyes running over him like he was an old friend she couldn’t quite place, “Well aren’t you going to introduce us?”, she asked brining her gaze back to a man she clearly knew intimately.

“O-of course”, Alfred stuttered in his excitement, “This is my sister Lady Adelaide - ”.

“And you must be the famous Mr Drummond, my big brother over here can barely go half a line without mentioning you in his letters”, she cut in, as if all the pieces had just fallen into place in her mind. Not to mention turning Alfred a most adorable shade of pink.

“I assure you she’s exaggerating”, said Alfred.

“I assure you I am not”, she said raising out her hand for a shake, “Alfred told me of your horrible ordeal, I was so pleased to hear that you’d recovered”, her smile was sincere in a way that confused him, like her entire world rested on his good health and she was relieved it hadn’t all been a lie. Upon looking at her properly Drummond questioned how he had missed the resemblance. Her hair was the same patchwork blonde as Alfred’s and he could hear that familiar snark in her voice that he’d grown to love so much/

“As am I”, said Drummond, letting go of her unusually firm handshake,“I take it you’ve been away”.

“In America, yes”, she replied.

“Adelaide’s a journalist”, explained Alfred, “She’s been in New York for, my God how long has it been?”.

“Just over two years I believe, much to Papa’s dismay”. It was only then that Drummond realised how little Alfred ever spoke of his family, but the way Adelaide talked about their father! It wasn’t a jovial jab at a disapproving parent, it was cold. It sounds simplistic but that was the only way Drummond could have described it, as if a lifetimes worth of resentment was making a crack in a warm surface only to freeze once it became exposed to the harsh reality of the situation. He didn’t think Alfred was too pleased with the mentioning of their Father either, he looked as if he didn’t know whether to roll his eyes or agree with her.

“How long are you going to be here”, said Drummond, trying to change the subject

“At the moment not very long I’m afraid”, she said, “I’m travelling up to Liverpool tomorrow for the opening of the Albert Dockyard”.

“You’re reporting on it?” asked Drummond.

“Perhaps”, she replied.`

“What on Earth does that mean?” Alfred seemed unsatisfied with his sister’s answer and Drummond wasn’t about to push where he didn’t belong.

“It means it’s complicated, Alfred and you need to trust me to make my own decisions”, she said, snapping her voice and eyes at Alfred, which made him quiet enough for the situation to become awkward to say the least.

“Well you’ll be in good company either way”, Alfred finally said, clearly he didn’t want to push it either.

“Oh of course”, said Adelaide with either a moment of realisation or a deep desire to put away the harsh winds of reality for a while, “You’re the Prince’s private secretary, I should have realised you would be going”.

“Perhaps I will see you there Lady Adelaide”, said Drummond.

“Oh Alfred you must ask the Queen if you can join us”, she seemed to have forgotten all about their little spat just a moment prior.

“You will just have to cope without me”, Alfred insisted, not that he wasn’t tempted by Adelaide proposal but he couldn’t just go away whenever he felt like it.

“Nonsense, the country will not fall just because you went away for a few days”, teased Adelaide, “Besides I’m sure Mr Drummond would much prefer your company to mine”. He was already to say no, to insist that he must stay behind, but there was something in Drummond’s eyes, a plea that made it impossible for him to think rationally about anything when it finally came down to it.

And that’s how it happened that’s how he ended up stood in front of the Queen, the most powerful women in the country with command of the worlds mightiest army, asking for a favour.

“Can I help you Lord Alfred?” asked the Queen, he was almost ready to make up a lie but then he thought about how happy Drummond would be if she said yes.

“I was wondering if I might accompany the Prince to Liverpool tomorrow”, he was proud that he managed to get all the words out in one go.

“And why would that be necessary?” to say the Queen looked confused was an understatement. That was Alfred’s other fear, if it were up to him he’d never leave Drummond’s side. It always saddened him that if they were married no one would even look twice at him going, a silly pipe dream if anything else and the palace churned out rumours like it was a northern cotton mill. 

“You see Your Majesty my youngest, sister Lady Adelaide, will be there and she’s been abroad for nearly two years and doesn’t yet know how long she’ll be staying”, the way Victoria’s look melted into one of endearment sent a breath of relief through Alfred’s entire body.

“Say no more Lord Alfred, I’m sure we can manage without you for a day or two”. Alfred let out a small laugh. “Is something funny?” she asked.

“It’s just that is exactly what she said Your Majesty”, he explained, a smile beaming across his face.

“A woman of wisdom clearly, I should like to meet her if I get the chance”, Victoria went on, “You must tell her she’s welcome too travel with the Prince and lodge at Croxeth Hall”.

“What is this?” it was his Royal Highness, coming in to join his wife.

“Lord Alfred and his sister Lady Adelaide will be joining you on your trip to Liverpool”, she explained, Prince Albert taking a regal stance behind her.

“Splendid, the more the merrier”, the Prince exclaimed excitedly, “Tell Skeret to have her a room made up”.

 


	2. Chapter 2

“So, are you going to tell me what’s going on between you and your sister?” asked Drummond as he tugged at Alfred’s cravat from behind, unravelling the twists and turns of the fabric.

“There’s not much to tell”, Alfred knew it was a pointless lie, even if Drummond didn’t know what was going on he knew there was something, and there was _always_ something to tell when it came to Adelaide. She didn’t just not mind getting into trouble, she seemed to actively seek it out, what she would’ve called inquisitive their Father would have called reckless. That was the other thing, his little sister had this way of knowing a mans deepest secrets just by looking them in the eye. He’d seen her work the most prized of information out of the countries most renowned nobles, even when they’d been all but children, and as much as he was thrilled to see her, he was worried she might do the same to him.

Alfred’s tie fell to ground and was replaced by a soft kiss on the side of his neck, “You’re a terrible liar”, said Drummond, his lips barely an inch away from him.

“Or you were just a very good politician”, Alfred quipped back, turing to face the taller man planting yet another faint kiss between them.

“And you’re avoiding the question”, Drummond said leaning out from his lovers grasp leading them both over to the bed they almost shared.

“It almost seemed like you didn’t want to come to Liverpool”, Drummond’s heart broke a little bit thinking that Alfred might be ashamed to spend time with him in the company of his family, but he had to ask, the thought had been lumbering around in his head all day, like a ball and chain anchored to his feet.

“It isn’t that”, Alfred said, rubbing his hand to his temple, “But”, there relationship always seemed to come with a ‘but’, “Adelaide is the smartest person I have ever met, and she knows me better than anyone, what if she finds out?”. Drummond didn’t need him to explain anymore, he knew what Alfred was afraid of, he’d be lying if he hadn’t thought about what would happen if his family discovered the real reason he had called off his wedding.

“Then we will deal with it, together”, Drummond assured him, taking the other man’s hand and intertwining it with his own.

“It’s more than that”, Alfred admitted, leaning in to bury his head into Drummond’s chest, “I’m worried about her”.

“Why?” he asked, “She seemed like a perfectly capable young woman to me”.

“She is, but honestly I never thought she’d come home, she was happy there, free”, the pain Alfred felt for his sister endeared Drummond, he could see how much they cared for each other and just why Alfred didn’t want to disappoint her.

“What do you mean free?” 

“None of papa’s friends read the New York Evening Post, if she wants to be a writer here he’s made it very clear she’s not to do it under her name, _his_ name”, Alfred explained, he almost felt guilty in hindsight. He’d been so angry when Adelaide left, he couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t bend to Father’s wishes. Then he met Drummond, and everything changed, he suddenly realised how much it must have hurt to put on that mask everyday, because that’s what he became. Outside those four bedroom walls he was more mask than he was man, if there was some magical place he could go where he didn’t have to worry about what people thought or how he acted he would have gone there yesterday. He started to wonder if it was just people like him who had to love with terms and conditions attached. 

 


	3. Chapter 3

The journey up was pleasant, if uneventful. They had set off early in the morning so everyone was already pretty tired. Their bags were taken to Croxeth Hall and Alfred almost had a heart attack when he realised himself and Drummond were in adjoining rooms. The simple thought of being able to wake up in the morning and just lay there together, no interruptions or sneaking around, just the rest of the world melting away around them. However whilst Alfred was in good spirits when they left for the opening ceremony Drummond was a most worrying shade of white.

“Everything will be fine”, assured Alfred as they stepped out of the carriage. Drummond gave a panicked nod as he rifled through the days itinerary. The prince was whisked away to a makeshift stage whilst the others stood back behind a barricade waiting for the proceedings to begin. The view was spectacular, there were thousands of people all gathered in mammoth clumps, shouting and cheering, all hoping to get even just a glimpse of royalty. All to the encore of a marching band blaring out its most iconic songs. But, as Alfred marvelled at the spectacle in front of him to see that Drummond was shaking, he wasn’t just pale and sleep deprived anymore he looked like he might faint from illness. He was about to say something, make sure he was going to be okay, until the music ended with a line of soldiers firing off their rifles. Drummond recoiled back, shoving the stack of papers he’d been guarding all day into Alfred’s chest, he stumbled backwards, shaking his head as he disappeared into the crowd. Alfred just stood there, unsure of what to do, he was scanning the masses but he couldn’t see anything.

“Give those here”, barked Adelaide, not even waiting for her brother’s response before snatching the stack from his hand, “Go, I can deal with this”, her insistence was appreciated and Alfred ran off into the swarm of onlookers.

Drummond could barely stand, as soon as he’d heard those guns he was right back _there_ , the pistol was going off and he was diving in front of Peel. Everything after that had come back in fragments, little flashes of memory that he couldn’t escape. The herd of people gathered above him, the screams of the fleeing scared. Normally the memories would pass quickly, a flash here and there, a small flinch and it would be over. But this time it was constant, playing on a loop in his head as he fumbled his way through the streets of an unknown city, finally collapsing into an Alleyway. He couldn’t tell how long he’d been there by the time Alfred found him.

“Edward”, he whispered softly trying to minimise the panic he was feeling, cupping his hands around Drummond’s face trying to get his attention, “Edward”. It was no use though, Drummond’s world was spinning out of control, he couldn’t breathe, as if his own mind was wrapping a rope around his neck. He just wanted the pain to stop, he didn’t want to feel like this anymore, he wanted to feel safe. And yet there he was, in the arms of the man he loved and he still felt like there was a threat lurking behind every dark corner of every room. Perhaps that was it, before the shooting he’d had nothing to loose, he was alone in all the ways that mattered, but now he had someone who loved him for everything that he was and he wouldn’t be able to bear it if anything ever happened to him.  

“I’m terrified, I’m terrified all of the time Alfred”, he finally blurted out, burying his head into the other man’s shoulders, between the dark alley and the ceremony no one could see them. The tears were seeping through Alfred’s clothes, he could feel them, so sad their salt-crusted bitterness could have burnt right through, eventually there was nothing left and Drummond fell back against the cold, grimy wall of the alleyway behind him. He tried to get up to go back to the Prince once he heard the speech start but Alfred quickly stopped him, he might not have quite understood what was going on with Drummond but he knew that being submerged in half the bloody population of Liverpool wasn’t going to help. So the two just sat there until the crowds dispersed and Adelaide came to find them.

“There you are, I’ve been looking for you two for ages, are you okay?” The frantic string seemed to be directed at the both of them. _How on God’s earth am I going to explain this one_ , thought Alfred.

But Drummond clearly had different things on his mind, “Did everything go alright?”

“It went perfectly”, said Adelaide with pride, “Your notes were extraordinarily detailed”.

“Where is the Prince?” asked Alfred helping himself and Drummond, who still hadn’t totally regained his composure, off the ground.

“He went back to Croxeth Hall, he wanted me to find you, he was worried you two wouldn’t make it back in one piece”, she explained, “Now come on the poor carriage driver has been waiting long enough”.

Dinner that night was awkward to say the least, Drummond felt like such a fool, falling to pieces in front of his boss, the Prince Consort of England no less. Things didn’t get much better as the night progressed either, the Earl of Sefton had gone all out to entertain royalty, which included a rather large selection of wines. As the evening wore on Drummond completely loss sight of the Prince until he stumbled back into the main drawing room with Lady Adelaide by his side, the pair giggling to themselves.

“If you don’t mind me saying Your Royal Highness, I thought German’s were supposed to be good at holding their liquor”, she said, obviously trying to reduce the laughter sneaking it’s way in behind her voice.

“You see Lady Adelaide I was always the sensible one, my brother Ernest on the other hand”, he said, tripping over a side table causing some presumably expensive whisky to crash mercilessly to the ground, “Oh dear”, he said his German accent stronger than ever, “I will ensure we pay to replace that”.

“Excuse me”, said Adelaide, catching the attention of one of the serving staff, still holding back her laughter “I think it is time the Prince retired to his rooms, and maybe inform the stables that we probably won’t be leaving as early as they had anticipated”.

“Is it time for bed?” asked the Prince, looking round only now noticing the number of faces staring at him.

“I think so Sir”, Alfred said, jumping in to make sure he didn't loose his balance and take Adelaide with him.

“Then may I just say Lord Alfred, your sister has been the h… the hero of the day”, said the Prince, barley able to form coherent sentences.

“You exaggerate Your Royal Highness”, she could see Drummond stood in the corner and she had seen what a state he’d been in before, “It was Mr Drummond’s plan I merely executed it, which wouldn’t have been possible without his meticulous attention to detail”, she gave him a quick smile which he sheepishly reciprocated. He appreciated the effort and only hoped that the Prince was too drunk to remember anything that he had said that night.

“Quite so”, the Prince quietly agreed, fluttering his eyes up and down, “I think you were right. It is time I go to bed now”.

“Good idea Sir”, said Alfred, himself and Adelaide handing him off to Brodie and one of the Earl’s serving boys. The two siblings, and the rest of the guests and residents, watched as Albert cautiously made his way out and up the stairs.

“Oh dear”, said Adelaide, in that same giggly tone she’d arrived with, “What!” she said, noticing Alfred’s disapproving look, “Oh stop looking at me like that”.

“Like what”, Alfred said, not wanting to get into anything right there.

“Like you’re imagining me with a litter of Bastard children at my feet”.

“Adelaide!” he said, shocked even she would say such a thing in public.

“Please Alfred, am I not allowed to have friends now, we spent most of the evening talking about Trans-Atlantic politics. Well as much as you can with a man whose drunk nearly two bottles of wine. Either way it’s hardly the stuff of high romance”, she reassured her brother, “Besides anyone who knows anything knows that he and the Queen are completely besotted with each other, and God forbid I ever  stand in the way of a man’s happiness…Speaking of which”, she said turning her attentions to him.

“What?” now Alfred was doing it.

“Nothing, it’s just, happiness suits you”, she said a smile beaming behind her eyes.

“And is that something new?”, he asked, almost offended at how wonderfully absurd she seemed to find the idea.

“I don’t know is it?”, as she said it her eyes wandered over to Drummond who was still stood alone in the corner swallowing his next drink.

Alfred’s heart started beating at a million miles per second, he had been right about Adelaide getting too close, she was always the smart one, “Perhaps we should talk in private”.

The two found a smaller room, somewhat out of the way of everyone else, as soon as the door closed Alfred was pacing up and down trying to think of someway he could explain all this away. This was different than the Duchess or Wilhelmina knowing, Adelaide was family and it would destroy him if he were to loose her.

“Look whatever you think you know -”, Alfred tried speaking but his sister was evidently uninterested in whatever lie he would have spouted.

“I know that he means something too you, more than friends, and whatever it is or whatever it might become just promise me you’ll be carful”, she said, taking a few steps closer to Alfred, close enough that she could see the tears welling up in his eyes.

“Why”, he finally said barley able to hold back the floods, “Because you’re ashamed of me?”

“No”, she said, plainly hurt by the mere suggestion, “Because you’re my brother and I don’t want anything bad to happen to you”, she said, placing a gentle hand on his arm before wiping away the tears from his face.

“Do you really mean that?” asked Alfred, barley able to believe what he was hearing.

“Are you happy?”, she said with sincerity.

“Yes, I think more so than I have ever been”, he said, crying a tear of joy.

“Then that is all I care about”, she declared, “You are my brother, and I will always love you, no matter what”. Alfred grabbed her and pulled her into the most honest embrace he had ever had with anyone outside of Drummond. It felt like this huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders, all this time he had worried that he couldn’t lie to Adelaide, when it turned out he never had to in the first place.

 


	4. Chapter 4

 

The door closed with an ever mundane click, click of a lock sliding into place, Alfred letting go off a small smile as he pulled off his jacket and tie. It was late and the room was only lit by a small oil lamp on the dresser, for a moment he didn’t even notice that Drummond was slumped up against the end of the bed.

“The Prince is right”, he said in defeat.

“The Prince is drunk, I would surprised if he remembers the latter half of the day in the morning”, reminded Alfred. He thought about telling him about Adelaide but he decided it better wait for another time.

“Or perhaps I should never have accepted the position here”, said Drummond, he had thought about it a lot, maybe he wasn’t ready to go back to work after everything that happened. He had just been so eager for everyone to stop treating him like a victim, and a hero for that matter, he hadn’t gotten into politics to be known as the man who saved someone else. Now he wasn’t even sure he wanted to be in politics.

“Does what happened today have anything to do with why you haven’t been sleeping?” asked Alfred, he felt like a idiot for not seeing it before, but Drummond was always awake before he was. He was beginning to wonder if he went to sleep in the first place. 

“I suppose”, he said timidly, sinking his head down in shame, as far as anyone could tell he was healed, but he didn’t feel like he was. He still felt like the bullet was charging through his body, he still felt like he was screaming as it was being pulled out of him.

“Look at me Drummond”, said Alfred crouching down next to him and turing the other man’s head to face him, “You have nothing to be scared of, Daniel M’Naghten is in prison, and that is where he is going to stay”, Daniel M’Naghten, the name had been plastered all over the papers in the days after the shooting, the deranged man who had tried to kill the Prime Minister, they were calling it the trail of the century that could change the law forever. How Alfred had cursed that name, how he longed to watch him rot in a cell for the rest of his life.

“I know, I know”, mumbled Drummond, pressing their foreheads together before falling into a deep and intense kiss as if Alfred was trying to suck all the pain away from the man he loved. Things moved quickly after that, they tore at each others clothing, it was fast and disorganised but when their skin touched it still felt like the most calming presence in the world. The world around them was a raging tempest but right there and then it felt like they were at the eye of the storm, where everything was at a standstill even if it was only for a moment. Drummond felt the soft linen of his shirt slide off his body to the floor leaving his chest exposed, Alfred stopped his frantic grabbing of clothes to lift his hand up and trace the long scar that now resided on his lover’s skin. It made Drummond shake slightly, to have something so beautiful touch such an ugly part of himself, but Alfred wasn’t turned away by the scar, quite the opposite actually, littering it with soft kisses that made Drummond shake it quite a different way. The two men with their bodies entwined fell back into the foreign bed and into a night of euphoria that was enough to make Drummond forget. Even if, like the tempest, it was only temporary.

The night passed and the sun rose, and for the first time Alfred awoke to see Drummond still asleep in his arms, only stirring when Alfred planted a kiss in the brunettes disheveled hair.

“Sorry”, Alfred said, as Drummond’s eyes flickered open, “I didn’t mean to wake you”.

“What time is it?” asked Drummond, shifting to tighten his hold on the smaller man.

“It doesn’t matter, I think my sister was right, I don’t think the Prince will be rising for yet some time”, Alfred said, half joking, half praying the Prince would take as long as possible.

“Good”, Drummond declared, seeding a kiss into Alfred’s chest.

“I have to tell you something”, Alfred admitted, he should have told him last night but he feared that it wouldn’t do Drummond any good.

“What?” Drummond shot up letting go of Alfred and sitting to face him.

Alfred could see the panic in his eyes, “It is nothing to worry about, but”, he said, trying to ease his way in, “My sister knows, about us”, Alfred waited for Drummond’s reaction but it seemed as if it would never come, he just sat there staring into the bed sheets in shock, “She isn’t going to say anything, actually she was rather supportive”, even Alfred couldn’t quite believe it.

“Are you absolutely sure Alfred?”

“Yes, I can trust her”, he promised, taking Drummond’s hand into his own, clutching tight he needed him to know that whatever he might be going through, whether it involved him or not, he would always be there ready when he needed him.

 


	5. Chapter 5

It was a few more hours before the Prince was ready to leave, Drummond knew that he needed to talk to him, to explain himself, before they went back to London. He found Albert looking out over the grounds, watching as everyone’s luggage was being loaded up into carriages.

“Your Royal Highness”, Drummond said with respect, terrified of what punishment was waiting for him, “How are you feeling today?”

“It would seem I make terrible decisions when I travel alone Mr Drummond, remind me to not leave London without ‘Toria in the future”, he told him. _So there would be a next time,_ Drummond thought, well at least he wasn’t being dismissed. 

“Sir I would like to apologise for my behaviour yesterday, it was completely unprofessional and inappropriate”, said Drummond, making sure he got everything out without stuttering. 

“Nonsense”, said the Prince, “You have been through a great trauma, you are allowed to be effected, allowed to grieve for what it took from you. You worked so hard for yesterday, and look what happened, the day went off without a problem. You created a plan that could be perfectly carried out even in your absence, I am not angry with you Mr Drummond, I am impressed”. 

He didn’t know quite what to say to that except, “Thank you Sir”. He realised he didn’t have to be scared all of the time, of loosing his position, of loosing Alfred because even when things went wrong he had enough people who cared about him to make sure that in the end he would be alright.


End file.
